PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron said helping Ukraine defend itself means protecting France and the French people, in a post on X that set out what he called two priorities from talks in Dublin this week.
“What is at stake in Ukraine directly concerns us,” Macron wrote. “It is our collective security that is at issue.”
Ukraine was at the heart of discussions Thursday and Friday in Dublin, he said, at the ninth European Political Community summit and an informal European Council meeting. The talks, he added, showed unity around the two priorities.
If Russia imposes its will on a European country through brutality, all of Europe is weakened, Macron wrote.
Help Ukraine Through the Winter
The first priority is to help Ukraine get through the winter, Macron said. Ukrainians continue to resist, he wrote, with courage that commands admiration.
Recent discussions with American envoys made clear, he said, that Russian President Vladimir Putin does not want to negotiate. Putin’s army is not advancing, Macron wrote. It is retreating and suffering considerable losses, he said, but Putin is betting on forcing Ukraine to its knees by stepping up strikes against civilians and trying to plunge the country into darkness this winter.
France’s responsibility is to thwart that bet, Macron said. That means maintaining financial support and helping Ukraine protect its people, its power plants and its electricity grids, he wrote.
He warned against rationing Ukraine’s resources. Those who want to do so, he wrote, ultimately want to force Ukraine into an unjust peace and leave it, and Europe, permanently vulnerable.
“That is a defeatist mindset. It is a recipe for the next war. It cannot be France’s position.”
Work Toward a Just and Lasting Peace
The second priority, Macron said, is to work with Ukraine toward a just and lasting peace. Europe must play its full part, he wrote, because the continent’s security also depends on that peace. At the European Council on Friday, he said, leaders reaffirmed their unity on the point.
At the European Political Community summit, 42 countries approved a declaration on the principles that must guide Europe’s security, at France’s initiative, Macron wrote. He called the decision historic.
Macron also pointed to the Coalition of the Willing, launched in early 2025 to prepare security guarantees for Ukraine. A declaration adopted in Paris earlier this year laid the groundwork, he said, providing for support for the Ukrainian army and preparations for a multinational force that could be deployed after a ceasefire. An exercise is under way in Poland, he wrote, and the coalition will meet again in Berlin on Thursday.
Europe must now go further, Macron said, and state clearly, including to the Russians, what it wants for the postwar period. It must also specify what it expects from the United States for Europe’s long-term security, he wrote.
Ukraine, which has Europe’s largest conventional army, has a key role to play alongside NATO, Macron said, “a place where it fully belongs.”
“Our objective is clear: to secure a just and solid peace for Ukraine, then continue to work with everyone to strengthen a common security framework for Europe,” he wrote.